Windows Archive

Microsoft, of all companies, continues to lead the way with free and loose licensing terms around server virtualization software and multi-core processors. As of Oct 1, Windows Server Datacenter Edition operating system customers will have the right to run "an unlimted number of virtualized Windows Server instances". This policy applies to licenses covering new servers and previous licenses upgraded with new version rights. All told, it means that you pay to run Windows Server Datacenter Edition on a server with a set number of processors and can then divvy that box up with any combination of Windows Server Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition and/or Datacenter Edition without needing to count the number of virtual machines being created or pay for extra Windows Server licenses.

If Vista is not activated with a legitimate product registration key in time, the system will run in 'reduced functionality mode' until it is activated, said Thomas Lindeman, a senior product manager at Microsoft. In this mode, people will be able to use a Web browser for up to an hour, after which time the system will log them out, he said. On a related note, Microsoft later this month plans to roll out an Express Upgrade program that gives buyers of Windows XP-based PCs a coupon for a free or discounted upgrade to Windows Vista through March 15.

Microsoft this Friday will ship the final pre-release version of Windows Vista and, unexpectedly, will name the release as Release Candidate 2. Previously, Microsoft had publicly asserted that it would not ship an RC2 milestone release of Windows Vista. But don't let the name fool you: RC2 is really just a standard interim build of Vista and will not be given out to millions of users as was RC1.

The Vista Team Blog has an interesting article on Vista's installation routine, more specifically on how long it takes to install Vista. "PC World got the conversation going on installation times in Windows Vista. While they quote Jim Allchin that Windows Vista can take as little as 15 minutes to install, my installs have been more like 20 minutes (still rocking fast), so I thought I would talk with David D'Souza who manages our Deployment and Installation team to get some more information about the different deployment scenarios and their installation time."

From the kernel to the shell, Windows Vista is a very different OS than XPSP2. How so? Here, Charles interviews Architect Nar Ganapathy whose team of highly skilled engineers write the Windows IO system, driver frameworks and related technologies. So, what, exactly, is new in Windows Vista with regard to IO? What does it mean, exactly, to users and developers? Tune in. Learn.

Microsoft will release just one more build of Windows Vista for testing before the code goes gold, said Brad Goldberg, the general manager for the Windows client business group. That build will be made available to a limited group of between 50000 and 100000 testers in October, and follows the interim Vista build that Microsoft released on Sept. 22. Elsewhere, people noticed that Java applications use the standard (effect-less) Aero interface, instead of the finacy shiny bling-bling Aero Glass.

"Earlier this month, when I found I could install Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 (RC1) on my MacBook Pro, I quickly took the plunge, practically chortling at the thought that my dual-core laptop could run Microsoft's next operating system. What better way to show that when you buy a Mac you get two computers in one? I've been using Vista off and on for a couple of weeks now, but I'm not chortling as much." More here.

"My favorite part of the product cycle is right before we start the development phase. For me it's extremely exciting to work with all of the different disciplines to build a feature that will affect millions of people across the world. At this point, I spend almost all of my time working with my 'feature team' composed of dev, test, design, and usability to map out how the features that I work on are going to look and behave. Today I'd like to give you some insight into the process of designing a feature inside the Windows organization."

Build 5728 of Vista, which got released yesterday, has been released to the general public today, as an update to Vista RC1. Neosmart provides some more details concerning build 5728. APC Magazine takes a look at the various different themes Microsoft has included in Vista, which will be applied in accordance with system performance.

Device driver writers possess a special blend of software and hardware skills (among other things). They need to write highly structured and elegant code as well as debug down to the register level of the hardware. They have to do their tasks with less then optimal debug hardware. They often make do without JTAG or Ethernet debug tools and fix tough problems with just their wit and a GPIO line. If you have the tenacity to write device drivers read on.

With Release Candidate 1 now out the door, Microsoft is putting what it calls the 'fit-and-finish' on Windows Vista's user interface, and the company is looking for feedback from users testing out the beta release. Dave Vronay, a research manager with the Windows User Experience Compliance team, says Microsoft is taking a lot of time to track down minor UI glitches - something it has never done before. "You can actually participate in this process by providing your feedback on the various pre-release versions of Vista we are putting out," says Vronay. The company is hosting a forum in which users can offer their rants and raves. Also, Microsoft has confirmed all versions of Vista will ship on the same disk.

The Windows Client team explains the reasoning behind an important change in Vista's user interface. "One of the first things people notice when they start using Vista is the absence of menu bars. Explorer, photo gallery, media player, and IE all don't show menus by default and just use the so-called 'command module'. What is up with that? Do we hate menu bars? And more importantly - what is the guidance that third-party developers are supposed to follow? Let me break it down for you." And on a slightly related note: Mary Jo Foley has left MicrosoftWatch to start working at ZDNet.

The launch of Microsoft's new Vista operating system has been a long time coming. Missing the important pre-Christmas slot earned the software company a lot of criticism from partners and customers but Microsoft has committed to shipping the OS in January. But now some analysts claim that a number of 'events' in the IT industry have made it more likely that Microsoft may delay the launch of Vista again until at least May next year. The reservations hinge around a research note, 'Events aligning to make Vista delay more likely', published by analyst Gartner late last week, and take in market, political and industry issues that the researcher believes are beginning to stack up.

Ars takes a quick look at Vista RC1, and concludes: "Using it as my daily workhorse for two weeks has taught me a lot of things, the first of which is that Vista is doing better than many of its critics are claiming. A day after RC1 was available to select partners, the wires lit up with story after story about how 'Vista isn't ready'. No, it's not ready. It's a release candidate, at best, a late-stage beta at worst. Having actually used the OS for a while, I'm not so sure that the sky is falling claims have much merit."